Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted he can sympathise with Manchester United for their lack of tangible success in the last decade.
The Red Devils have not claimed the Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, while they have only won one FA Cup, one Europa League, one Community Shield and two EFL Cups in the 11 years following his departure. In that time, City have won a staggering 18 trophies.
Ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola said there is constant pressure to win at big clubs and United’s problem has been made worse by the lofty standards set by Ferguson.
“I would say at big clubs you have to win and win,” he said. “Not just United, you have to win in the big clubs. It’s not easy for United to come from an incredibly successful period with Sir Alex and cope with that, that is not easy. Sometimes I can understand it.
“Before in England, with the managers they had more patience. Today everyone has a lot of pressure. But the diagnosis [of United] like I said before I don’t know the reason why [they have not been successful]. I am not there.”
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After completing the purchase of a 28% stake in United, Sir Jim Ratcliffe revealed last week he wants to knock City and fellow rivals Liverpool ‘off their perch’ – a sentiment similar to Ferguson in his early days at Old Trafford.
Guardiola went on to say that it’s possible for United to regain their place at the top of English football as eras in this country don’t last forever.
“In the 80s it was Liverpool, in the 90s it was United and now we have won seven Premier Leagues in the last 11 or 12 years,” Guardiola added.
“In 50 or 60 years, there has never been one country where one team dominates and controls everything but we try to extend this as much as possible for many years.”
